Lotus confirm Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean as drivers for 2014 Formula One season - Telegraph Lotus confirm Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean as drivers for 2014 Formula One season Pastor Maldonado replaces Ferrari-bound Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus Moving on: Pastor Maldonado will drive for Lotus next season Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Tom Cary , F1 Correspondent 7:03PM GMT 29 Nov 2013 Follow The 2014 driver market became a little clearer yesterday with Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado confirmed alongside Frenchman Romain Grosjean at Lotus. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was originally favoured to land the second seat at Lotus – on paper the most competitive team outside of the ‘big four’ – but significant funds promised by a mysterious consortium named Quantum have so far failed to materialise, meaning Maldonado’s backing from Venezuelan oil company PDVSA became too attractive to turn down. Lotus’ financial predicament was recently laid bare by their Ferrari-bound Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who revealed in Abu Dhabi that he had been paid “zero euros” by the team all year.

It is thought that he is owed around £15 million. PDVSA paid just under £30 million a year for the quick but extremely erratic Maldonado to drive at Williams where he was responsible for the team’s first win in eight years, in Barcelona last year, along with numerous collisions. Team principal Eric Boullier said of the 28 year-old: “It is clear that Pastor has pace and potential – demonstrated by his 2010 GP2 Series title success and then through strong races throughout his career at Williams F1 Team – and we are convinced that we will be able to provide the correct environment to enable him to flourish regularly on track. Related Articles David Coulthard: Six questions for next year 25 Nov 2013 "With Romain and Pastor I believe Lotus F1 Team will be able to cause quite a few surprises next year.” Grosjean matured markedly in 2013, finishing on the podium four times in five races prior to ending the campaign with an engine blowout in Brazil last Sunday. Maldonado, meanwhile, described the move as a "fantastic opportunity”.

"It's no secret that I have wanted a change of scene to help push on with my Formula One career and Lotus F1 Team offered the very best opportunity for me to be competitive next season,” said the Venezuelan. "The regulations and cars will change significantly so it is a very good time for a fresh start. I can't wait to be racing in black and gold." Hulkenberg is now expected to sign for Force India, where he is likely to be joined by Sergio Perez, who was let go by McLaren after one season. All of which means that British driver Paul di Resta’s prospects are looking increasingly bleak, with his current Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil already rumoured to have tied up one of the two Sauber seats and Esteban Gutiérrez expected to be retained alongside him. It would be a cruel blow for the Scot, a very solid performer but one who is does not come waving a chequebook. IndyCar has been mentioned as a possible alternative. Lotus F1 Team confirms Romain Grosjean will return to drive for it in 2015 | Autoweek Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Lotus F1 Team confirms Romain Grosjean will return to drive for it in 2015 2015 to be Lotus F1's first season powered by Mercedes-Benz November 19, 2014 Pinterest Email The Lotus F1 Team on Wednesday confirmed that driver Romain Grosjean will continue to race for the team alongside teammate Pastor Maldonado in 2015, its first season with cars powered by Mercedes-Benz . Next season will mark the fifth consecutive year Grosjean has been with Lotus F1, joining it at the start of the team’s inaugural 2011 Formula One season. “It’s fantastic for me to be continuing with Lotus F1 Team for 2015 and it’s superb to have the support of everyone [in the factory] at Enstone,” said Grosjean. “It’s no secret that we’ve had a really tough season this year, but the team has remained focused and we’re all determined to return to regular points-scoring in 2015.

“I’m very pleased, happy and proud to be part of Lotus F1 Team for next year and excited at the prospect of being powered by the Mercedes engine which has looked so strong this year. The E23 should be a good step forward, building on all the lessons from 2014.” Team principal Gerard Lopez said Grosjean has delivered impeccably this season despite large challenges, getting the most out of the car he had at his disposal. By Autoweek Staff Romain Grosjean F1 driver biography | F1 Fanatic Career stats Romain Grosjean was born in Switzerland but races under a French licence – motor racing having been banned in his birth country in the 1950s. He joined Renault as test driver in 2008 after winning the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries. Grosjean had previously been one of the team’s Development Drivers. He began his rise through the ranks winning the 2003 Swiss Formula Renault series with ten wins from as many starts. He then moved to French Formula Renault and was seventh in 2004 (with one win) and champion in 2005 (ten wins).

He also took two podiums in the Formula Renault Eurocup at Valencia. Grosjean made his F3 debut at the blue riband Macau event at the end of the year – a demanding street circuit and not an ideal venue for a debut appearance. He took Loic Duval’s place in the Signature-Plus team, started 19th and finished ninth despite losing a several places on the first lap. He beat team mates Fabio Carbone and Guillaume Moreau and raced convincingly with many F3 regulars. Stayed in the F3 Euroseries with Signature-Plus for 2006, the team hoping to recapture its form having switched from Opel to Mercedes engines. He ended the year 13th with only a single podium. But he also made an appearance in the British F3 event at Pau and won both races, from pole, setting fastest lap both times. For 2007 he moved to the F3 Euroseries champions ASM, who had steered Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta to victory in the previous two seasons.

He enjoyed little success in the two big F3 races of the year: he qualified on pole for the Masters of F3 race at Zolder, but stalled at the start and finished 14th, and was eighth in the Macau Grand Prix. However he beat Sebastien Buemi to the F3 Euroseries title and bagged a testing role at Renault for 2008. Over the winter of 2007/8 he became the inaugural GP2 Asia champion for ART, winning four times and beating Buemi with 61 points to 37. He stayed with ART for the GP2 main series in 2008. He ended the year fourth overall win two wins – and lost a further two due to penalties. Switching to the Addax team for 2009, he won two of the first three races to take the lead of the championship, despite suffering a substantial crash in Monaco . Renault 2009 Grosjean cut his GP2 season short after Nelson Piquet Jnr was dropped by Renault and he was promoted to the F1 team in Piquet’s place, making his debut at the European Grand Prix.

This was an inopportune time for Grosjean to make his F1 debut, and not just because he had twice-champion Fernando Alonso as his team mate. The recently-introduced testing restrictions gave Grosjean little time to drive the car. Worse, the team was in disarray following the expulsion of Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds after the details Piquet’s deliberate crash to help Alonso win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix had been exposed. Grosjean struggled to impress during his time with the team. Usually qualifying near the back and staying there, he only really distinguished himself when he crashed in practice at Singapore – in exactly the same place Piquet had during the infamous race 12 months earlier. He was not retained for 2010 as new management brought in Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov. Grosjean began 2010 driving a Ford GT in the GT1 World Championship. He later raced in the Auto GP championship before returning to GP2 with DAMS. He signed for Gravity Sports Management and shortly afterwards was appointed by Pirelli for F1 tyre testing .

In 2011 Grosjean raced a full season in GP2 in 2011 with DAMS, winning the championship with three races to go. That convinced new team principal Eric Boullier to return him to the team from the beginning of 2012, alongside Kimi Raikkonen . 2012 Grosjean’s first full season of Formula One showed promise but also a deal too much impetuousness. The defining moment came in Belgium, where he triggered a four-car crash which led to him being banned for one race. The severity of the punishment was due at least in part to the fact championship contenders had been involved in the incident. This was bad enough, but when he caused another collision on the first lap in Japan his victim, Mark Webber , branded him a “first-lap nutcase”. Even then the unnecessary incidents did not abate – he ruined his race in Brazil by tangling with Pedro de la Rosa during qualifying. This soured a season in which Grosjean also showed considerable promise. He regularly out-qualified his vastly more experienced team mate and scored podium finishes on three occasions. He was running second in Valencia when his alternator failed.

But the string of collisions clearly gave Lotus cause for concern. They waited until after the season was completed before confirming he would race for them again in 2013, and Grosjean was so relieved he emailled the team’s staff to thank them for the show of confidence. 2013 Grosjean’s second full season got off to a slow start and in Monaco a crash-strewn performance raised fresh questions about his performance. But he raised his game from that moment on, and found another gear as Lotus introduced a revised, longer version of the E31 chassis. He took the fight to the dominant Red Bulls in Japan, where he led much of the race, and at the Circuit of the Americas, where he split them on the podium. An excellent recovery drive from 17th on the grid in India netted another podium finish. That earned him a third full season at the team, now alongside Pastor Maldonado who arrived in place of Raikkonen. 2014 However neither Lotus driver had much to celebrate after a gruelling 2014 season.

The team began the year well off the pace with the E22, and just as the car was beginning to improve the mid-season banning of inter-connected suspension systems set them back again. Grosjean impressed by putting the car fifth on the grid and bringing it home in eighth place despite a problem with its floor. He repeated the result next time out in Monaco, but that was the sum total of his points finishes for the year. Unable to land a seat at a more competitive team for 2015, Grosjean remained at Lotus where the arrival of Mercedes engine promised a return to their previous form. 2015 Lotus did raise their game – but the team’s growing financial problems presented serious problems for them in the second half of the year. Progress on the car slowed and at times their participation looked in doubt. On one occasion the team’s staff found themselves without hospitality at a race. Against this background Grosjean’s third place finish in Belgium was a shot in the arm for the outfit. With Renault considering a return to F1 it was a timely reminder of the Enstone’s outfit’s potential.

But with Renault waiting until after the end of the season to confirm their return, Grosjean gambled on a move to new, Ferrari-aligned outfit Haas for 2016. While Spa marked the high point of the year, Grosjean had been emphatically the strongest of the two Lotus drivers throughout 2015. He out-scored Maldonado by a ratio of almost two to one, and out-qualified him 17 times in 19 occasions.

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 Formula One - Italian GP Preview | Lotus Cars Formula One - Italian GP Preview Monday, September 1, 2014 - 11:00 Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado share their thoughts on the challenges of the Italian Grand Prix Romain Grosjean "I have had some big results at Monza throughout my career, so it holds lots of good memories." How do you like Monza, the Theatre of Speed?

I like Monza a lot because it is so distinctive. Monza is a great track that has a lot of great racing history. This makes it nice for us to compete at a place where all our heroes raced too. There is a lot of atmosphere around the track and to race in the setting of the royal park makes for a really special ambience. Of course the Ferrari fans are a big part of it and it is really nice competing at such a legendary venue. Any special memories from Monza? One of my first ever races in cars was at Monza back in 2003 when I was driving in a category called Formula Lista where I won and then went on to win every race of my rookie season in that formula. I have had some other big results at Monza too throughout my career, so it holds lots of good memories. What aspirations do you have for Monza this weekend? I think that it will be tough for us. On paper it is not one of the races that we should do that well at.

But as always we will be fighting hard and trying to get the maximum from the weekend, so that it gives us good momentum for the Singapore weekend later in September when we should be stronger and the track should suit the E22 a little better. We will have a one-off rear wing for Monza and the key will be to make the car as quick as possible from an aero point of view, so that we can get back some of the performance from our straight-line speed disadvantage. Then we have to manage the tyre degradation. Also for us it will be tricky in the big corners like the Lesmos and the Ascari chicane because the less downforce you have then the more difficult it is to get good grip in the turns. It is a tough compromise but one I am sure that the team will get the best solution possible. Do you think that the ’14 spec cars with reduced downforce will be tough to drive at Monza? Yes but this is the same for everyone. Especially without the blown diffuser it will be more challenging than last year for sure. But this is F1 and you have to meet the challenge which we will do.

The reality is that we will probably have to run less all-round downforce to make up for the time we lose on the straight, but we will just have to stay positive and extract the most from the package we have in Italy. What do you make of the revisions to the run-off at Parabolica? Parabolica is a very challenging and quick corner so from a safety point of view it is a good thing to have some more margin for the drivers. I remember sometimes in the past coming in to the corner and knowing that to brake even a little bit too late then you could be straight in the gravel and then straight to the wall at high speed. I think that now what you will see is the drivers finding the limits sooner, because we know there will not be the big gravel and crash penalty like previously. Pizza or Pasta? I know a great Pizzeria close to the track, so it is pizza all the way for me. But I am always careful because it can catch up very easily on the weight side of things! Italy is a magic place and the cultural aspects are a big part of that. Like a lot of drivers I did a lot of racing there, even since karting days so I feel like I know the country very well.

I don’t know anyone who does not enjoy being in Italy. Pastor Maldonado "I think it will be interesting to see the new 2014-spec cars here because the track is so unique." What are your opinions of racing in the Parco di Monza? I like Monza and I love Italy. I actually used to live very close to the circuit when I was starting my career here in Europe. I have won races here so it holds some good memories and special feelings for sure. I have a lot of friends here and a lot of supporters who come and see me at the track, so it is very nice to catch up with them all. The track is totally unique and of course it is great to be racing where all the old heroes did too. Monza has changed only very slightly over the years and it still has the character of the old banking and the parkland trees as you drive through it and of course the fans create a great atmosphere which is a great soundtrack to the Grand Prix. Any particular expectations for the Monza weekend? For sure it is going to be a tough weekend again for us at Lotus F1 Team.

Monza is all about power combined with a low downforce set-up so it is a big challenge. I think it will be interesting to see the new 2014-spec cars here because the track is so unique and there is a very particular way to get the best out of the cars. They will be difficult to drive I think for everyone but we will be doing our best to put the Spa weekend behind us and to get more positive energy going before we head off on the long haul races. Tell us one word that comes to mind when you hear the word Monza? Speed. It has to be speed because the track is all about how fast you can go on the start/finish straight and then also on the back straight too. We are reaching the highest speeds of the season on these stretches. One of the critical points is the Parabolica corner. You have to get this right at the end of your lap to ensure a good time, and if you get it wrong it also compromises you for the next lap.

It’s difficult to do this as the car is set-up for low downforce on the straights, so it’s more difficult to drive on the corners – especially a long corner like Parabolica, which is tough and fast, the most crucial at Monza. This year you have tarmac not gravel on the outside of Parabolica. Will this change the approach to the corner? I don’t think it will make too much difference really. The approach will be the same which is to take it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course there is the obvious safety element which means that you have less risk if you go off. I think this is good from a safety point of view because it is a quick corner with not that much room on the outside. A dry, warm Grand Prix would be nice again? Yes. Spa was very tough with the conditions and also Hungary too. Monza is usually warm and dry which seems to suit the E22 more than the wet. We just need to have a trouble free weekend where we can further explore the low downforce bodywork, especially the front wing package that was introduced at Spa. The big challenge though will be the power issue.

It is difficult to overcome any disadvantage on this front but everyone will be working to get as much speed as we possibly can. Pizza or Pasta? Q&A with Lotus' Romain Grosjean & Pastor Maldonado - FormulaSpy Vettel escapes sanction over radio outburst November 1, 2016 Mexican Grand Prix – Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean & Pastor Maldonado talk about their US races, and look ahead to Mexico. Romain Grosjean: How are you looking forward to your trip to Mexico? It’s a new venue and it’s always nice to learn a new track. I can remember watching the Mexican Grand Prix when I was a kid, particularly with a memory of Senna going upside down at the last corner. It looks like the layout has more low speed corners now, but it still has a very long straight so there’ll be an interesting competition to see who can be the fastest there! Have you ever been to Mexico City before? It will be a first for me so I’m excited to be going there. I’m sure we will all get a great response and I’m looking forward to experiencing the culture and especially investigating the food which is what I always do when visiting a new city.

Any special preparations for the high altitude? The city is very high but for me that’s a good thing as I was born in the mountains! I’m a big fan of skiing and cycling in the mountains too, so I think I’ll be pretty well prepared. I don’t think it’s going to cause the drivers any issues, but I know there are a few areas to give some different calculations to the engineers. It’s going to be different with the brake cooling and things like that, but every track has its characteristics so I’m sure we’ll get on top of it pretty quickly. How do you reflect on your United States Grand Prix? Short but not sweet. It was quite some event. I’m glad there was a decent race for all the fans to watch after so much rainfall, and I was pretty pissed off to get hit at the first corner like that as it ruined my race. Damage was done to the rear floor and crucially to the brake ducting. We changed tyres as my tyre was punctured but the brake temperature kept rising. We came in again to change to slicks and also see if there was any debris blocking the ducting, but it was more the case that there was no ducting!

It wasn’t safe to continue, which meant I had to retire. I was gutted for myself, the team and all the fans. I think we had potential for a good finish, especially with everything that was going on elsewhere. The best bit of the weekend for me was actually away from the track where I went out on Sunday with all the guys who work on my car. Despite all the rainfall we’d seen in Austin, they were still very thirsty! The weather forecast for this weekend does show potential for rain; what are you feelings on driving in the rain? It’s something very different to driving in the dry. In the dry you can be very precise and you have a far better idea of the level of grip. You’re going faster in the dry and you’re pushing the tyres to their limits. In the wet, it’s a different way of driving. The level of grip can vary so much over the course of a lap, let alone over the course of a race. You’re more tentative, feeling your way around and you have to react very quickly as the car can start sliding very easily. You have to be wary of puddles and the risk of aquaplaning.

Understeer and oversteer are much more present and evident on every corner when it’s really wet and visibility is a very big concern. A car out front or in clear track has an advantage over something in the pack. It can be a lot of fun but sometimes it can seem pretty crazy too. You’ve got just three races left with Lotus F1 Team; any special plans? I’m certainly aiming to finish as strongly as possible with them as they’re a great bunch of people. It would be great to have a strong result in Mexico. Pastor Maldonado How are you looking forward to the Mexican Grand Prix? I think it’s going to be one of the most special races of the year. There’s certainly a lot of expectation and lots of great fans in Mexico. It’s a Latin American race so I think I’m going to enjoy it a lot. I think we’re all going to get a fantastic welcome and a lot of support. It’s a great country with great people. I love Mexico so I’m looking forward to it. Do you expect to get a lot of local support? It’s certainly very close to my home and the Spanish language is used so I’m looking forward to meeting fans old and new.

It’s a big city so there’s a lot of potential for many people tosupport the event and I’m sure they will. What do you think of the circuit? I’ve never been there so it will be a new experience for me. It’s always difficult to make a call on a track until you’ve driven it in the car. The layout looks good with some interesting corners with some low speed and also medium and quicker stuff, then a very long main straight which makes up a big percentage of the lap. We’re certainly going to get some high speeds along there! It’ll be interesting to explore our potential. Did you have a particular approach because of the altitude? There’s nothing particular other than your general conditioning and training. It’s the highest race of the year so the air will be a bit different but you adapt pretty quickly. How was your United States Grand Prix? It was an eventful one. The waiting for the sessions was something we see sometimes and you have to try to get some track time. To be honest the race itself wasn’t the most enjoyable as the car was quite a handful in the conditions we had and you never knew what to expect. I was struggling with the brake balance which made it tough to push hard.

We also seemed to grain the wet tyres more than expected so that had to be managed. It was good to get the points, but we didn’t score them in the best way possible because you always want to be pushing hard all the way. There’s a forecast of rain when we get to Mexico… The weather will be the same for everyone and we showed we can have a good result when there’s lot of action going on elsewhere. It’s a different track and a new one for everyone so we’ll have to see how our car likes in then deal with the weather as we find it. What are your thoughts on Jolyon now he’s been announced as your team-mate for 2016? He’s a nice guy and he’s good to work with so I feel positive about next season. We’ve been working closely together in FP1 sessions this year so that gives me a good idea about working with him. He’s an intelligent guy so I’m sure he’ll do a good job. Are you a fan of Mexican food? I love tacos so I’ll be having a few there, but not too many, at least not before the race or qualifying!

I like Mexican food, especially when it’s hot and spicy; although maybe not Mexican hot and spicy! Trick or Treat? Formula 1 gossip: Button, Maldonado, Grosjean, Hakkinen - BBC Sport BBC Sport Formula 1 gossip: Button, Maldonado, Grosjean, Hakkinen 17 May 2015 From the section Formula 1 Share this page Read more about sharing. Sunday, 17 May McLaren driver Jenson Button says he and team-mate Fernando Alonso have been frustrated by how long it takes to make a new engine competitive. (f1i.com) Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen drives a soapbox car during the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Valkenburg on Saturday Romain Grosjean says his Mercedes-powered Lotus E23 Hybrid has the "driveability" to be competitive in next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. (f1i.com) Grosjean's Lotus team-mate Pastor Maldonado is hoping for a change of luck after failing to score a world championship point so far in 2015.

(crash.net) Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen hints that a move from Williams to Ferrari could help fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas win the world title. (NBC Sports) Saturday, 16 May Lotus chief executive Matthew Carter has ruled out a possible sale to French manufacturer Renault. (espn.com) Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado is looking forward to next weekend's "iconic" Monaco Grand Prix, but says the track is "stressful physically and mentally". (planetf1.com) Formula 1 bosses have pledged to increase the noise of the engines and decrease lap times "by five or six seconds" to help check dwindling television audiences. (Daily Telegraph) Former world champion Sir Jackie Stewart says today's Formula 1 is "too complex" and says he does not find the sport interesting any more. (Globo Esporte - in Portuguese) Friday, 15 May Formula 1 appears to have opened the door to the introduction of customer cars, with plans for cost saving seemingly abandoned following Thursday's Strategy Group meeting. (Autosport) Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso say they would like to see the Italian Grand Prix at Monza remain on the F1 calendar.

(Crash.net) McLaren's Alonso says he would have preferred to be a Formula 1 driver in the 1980s, as "the cars were more racy, with big tyres, big engines and not many limitations in terms of creativity for the designers". (Autosport) Meanwhile, Alonso has been running in Dubai, as this sped-up video the Spaniard has posted demonstrates. Williams reserve driver Susie Wolff is driving five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio's 1955 Mercedes at the legendary 1,000-mile Mille Miglia race in Italy. Susie Wolff is driving Juan Manuel Fangio's 1955 Mercedes at the Mille Miglia in Italy Susie Wolff tweeted: "Early start here in San Marino (but at least this steering wheel doesn't require much mental capacity)" Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery says the Italian company have been asked to consider making "wider tyres" for F1.

He said: "That would be dramatic in terms of appearance and would mean that more grip comes from the tyres." (Formula1.com) Thursday, 14 May Three days after saying his McLaren was "scary" to drive during the Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren's Jenson Button was fourth fastest as he completed nearly 100 laps on the final day of the first in-season test in Barcelona. Lotus's British reserve driver Jolyon Palmer posted the quickest time. (Crash.net) The Lotus jackman is back at work Button was feeling more positive after the test, tweeting: "Got dirty today! Really enjoyed the test, a lot learnt. Now ready for some Monaco action next week!" Lotus's front jackman 'Jason' - struck by Romain Grosjean in the slippery pit lane during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix - was all smiles as he returned to work at the test. Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo joined four-time world champion Alain Prost, former Force India driver Paul Di Resta and BBC F1 pundits David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan on a bike ride. They went up the Col de la Madone in southern France.

Coulthard tweeted: "Downhill bit was the only time I wasn't staring at a gentleman's rear." The Col de la Madone summit is 928m high Red Bull and Renault's spell of dominance between 2010 and 2013 may have contributed to the engine manufacturer's struggles, says Renault sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul. (Formula1.com) Wednesday, 13 May The official F1 website has marked the 65th anniversary of the first world championship race, which was held at Silverstone on 13 May 1950. On the grid that day were a Swiss baron, a Thai prince and a well-known Jazz musician.

(Formula 1) A different era: The first ever F1 podium at Silverstone on 13 May 1950 had a combined age of 133, comprising on left British driver Reg Parnell (38), at centre right race winner and 1950 world champion Giuseppe Farina (43) and on right Italian driver Luigi Fagioli (52) Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is prepared to join forces with FIA president Jean Todt in a bid to push through change at Thursday's meeting of F1's Strategy Group, which has been described by one team boss as a "watershed" event. (Autosport) Gene Haas has refused to rule out the possibility of Danica Patrick, the world's best-known female racing driver, racing for his new Formula 1 team when it enters the sport next year. (Reuters) Tyre manufacturer Michelin says it is open to making a return to Formula 1, but only if the sport's technical regulations are changed. (RichlandF1.com) Manor Marussia president Graeme Lowdon has been delighted with the job driver Will Stevens has done since joining the team.

(Sky Sports) Ferrari received more money than any other team in Formula 1 for the 2014 season, despite finishing fourth in the constructors' standings. (Autosport) Tuesday, 12 May McLaren tweeted a link to YouTube footage of Fernando Alonso's recent outing at the wheel of Ayrton Senna's title-winning MP4/4 from 1988. McLaren on YouTube: "Possibly the most epic install lap of all time" Bernie Ecclestone says he will be happy to see Audi come into F1, but cautions that the German manufacturer will - as Honda have found this season - struggle to catch up with Mercedes. (Fox Sports) Lewis Hamilton will have news on his contract for 2016 at the next round in Monaco and has dismissed claims his negotiations with Mercedes have reached deadlock. (ESPN) Meanwhile, Hamilton's team-mate Nico Rosberg says he is happy for the double world champion to extend his stay beyond 2015.

(Paddock Talk) Monday, 11 May Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has written off the team's challenge for this season after watching Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat get lapped by Spanish Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg. (Sky Sports) McLaren have confirmed Fernando Alonso will not take part in this week's two-day test in Spain, with test driver Oliver Turvey taking his place on Tuesday before handing the MP4-30 over to Jenson Button for the second and final day. (Planet F1) A Lotus mechanic was left holding an ice pack on his crotch after Romain Grosjean overshot his marks and went straight-on at his pit-box, launching the front jack-man into the air during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. (Daily Mail) Grosjean also tweeted after the race, and referred to the incident, writing: "Good points again today for Lotus F1 Team. Glad that my guys are ok after a scary Pitstop:-)" Bernie Ecclestone says "it would be great" if Audi decided to compete in Formula 1, with the Volkswagen-owned brand rumoured to be considering joining the competition.

(Inautonews) Mercedes have changed their position yet again over proposals to increase the number of engines permitted in the season to five, with boss Toto Wolff saying: "We have called for the fifth engine, subject to the condition that more running is done on Fridays." (F1 Today) Share this page Grosjean: Spa result ‘wonderful’ for Lotus Grosjean: Spa result ‘wonderful’ for Lotus Share Sunday’s Belgian race saw Lotus return to the podium for the first time since the United States Grand Prix in 2013 thanks to a superb drive from Romain Grosjean at Spa-Francorchamps. Despite starting ninth after a gearbox-change penalty, Grosjean delivered a measured performance to come home third behind the two Mercedes, lifting Lotus back into fifth place in the constructors’ standings. “Today’s result is wonderful,” said Grosjean. “It’s good for the team and for myself of course. Yesterday’s good qualifying result put a smile on my face but today was an unbelievable race. Everything came together when it mattered during those 43 laps.

I drove with my heart today and pushed 100 percent throughout the race.” After moving through the field, the race’s closing stages saw Grosjean pressuring Sebastian Vettel for the final podium position, only for a tyre failure on the Ferrari to unexpectedly settle the matter in the Frenchman’s favour less than two laps from home. “I did some great overtaking manoeuvers and was really pushing to catch up and hopefully overtake Sebastian,” added Grosjean. “Of course it was bad luck for him to have had the tyre issue at the end. We were really trying to go for the podium this afternoon and I felt very emotional during the last lap of the race! It’s a great feeling today.” Lotus F1 driver Pastor Maldonado refuses to give up Friday seat time to test driver | Autoweek Pastor Maldonado does not believe that test driver Jolyon Palmer should be taking his ride on Grand Prix Fridays.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Lotus F1 driver Pastor Maldonado refuses to give up Friday seat time to test driver Jolyon Palmer getting some Friday sessions for Lotus on race weekends May 9, 2015 Pinterest Email Tension is reportedly brewing between Romain Grosjean and his Lotus teammate Pastor Maldonado. In China and Bahrain, Frenchman Grosjean sat out Friday practice so that team reserve Jolyon Palmer, who reportedly brings EUR 4 million to the team, could drive. Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, it emerged that the Enstone team's deputy Federico Gastaldi had asked Maldonado to take a turn on the Friday bench, but the Venezuelan driver and his entourage refused. It was reported in Italy that Maldonado, who is strongly backed by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, made it clear to the team that his agreement gives him the right to drive in each session at every Grand Prix. However, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport now reports that, when asked about the issue, Maldonado apparently replied that if he is asked to step aside for Palmer, he will.

But Grosjean, who reluctantly sat out Friday practice again on Friday, said in Barcelona, "I have raised it already 10 times, and still nothing has happened." By GMM

Question: For which Formula One team do Roman Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado drive?
Answer: LOTUS